Chapter 88: Star Chasing Journey (9)
“Then I threw that apple into my sink and left it there, continuing to write my paper.”
“My sink drain was clogged, so it was full of dirty water left over from washing dishes, with bits of vegetables and minced meat rinsed off the plates.”
“I didn't expect it,” although Professor Tang's expression couldn't be seen clearly, her intense excitement was palpable, “that apple actually absorbed all the leftover food in my sink like a sponge, filling up its holes.”
Liu Sheng listened, feeling her scalp tingle.
Some descriptions didn't need to be so detailed; they were too vivid. She really couldn't stand that level of filth!
Wen Weilan maintained her outward calm, but her lips were tightly pursed.
And Yu Jinling covered her mouth, almost throwing up.
Professor Tang seemed not to hear the even more unrestrained laughter below, and said excitedly, “Then I picked it up and looked at it carefully, thinking, 'It feels so familiar!'”
“I thought and thought, and I finally realized it!”
“Isn't this our Universe!”
Professor Tang spoke solemnly and seriously.
But it only drew a burst of laughter from the room.
There were also fragmented words like “lunatic” and “madwoman” mixed in.
At this moment, Professor Tang on the podium suddenly said, “Speaking of our Universe, aren't you three not from here?”
Although they couldn't see her eyes, Liu Sheng and the others could feel Professor Tang's gaze falling on them.
The laughter around them also stopped, and the entire space became silent.
Those “students” all turned towards them, their malevolent gazes almost tangible.
Then a more terrifying scene appeared!
Their hollow and blurry faces slowly transformed into rotten apples, riddled with holes, with countless wriggling maggots crawling in and out of their shriveled skin.
They slowly rose, ready to move.
“Attack!”
Liu Sheng roared.
Little Tentacle activated, sweeping outwards.
Now that she had a Realm, Little Tentacle itself had grown much thicker under the nourishment of Spiritual Qi, and the golden patterns on its body were even more distinct.
As soon as Little Tentacle touched these rotten apples, a golden shimmer flashed, and tiny electric sparks appeared. The “students” instantly made a sizzling sound like meat on a red-hot griddle, followed by tragic howls.
The “students” retreated a few steps in fear, and a large empty space immediately opened up around Liu Sheng.
Yu Jinling took out a string of golden bells and infused them with Spiritual Qi. As the bells rang, the movements of these weird objects immediately slowed down considerably.
Seizing this opportunity, cold light flickered between her fingers, and silver needles, like strands of silver thread, pierced through the bodies of the nearest “students.”
Although Wen Weilan had no Realm, her instincts were still there. She first put on a protective talisman, then drew her long sword. Cooperating with the effect of Yu Jinling's bells, her sword light flowed like water, silently slicing through the bodies of the “students.”
With each swing of her sword, an apple-shaped head would “crunch” and fall off.
Although it was their first time cooperating, they were quite in sync.
Before long, the ground was covered with shriveled, rotten apple heads. Only Liu Sheng and two others remained standing below the podium. Little Tentacle had grown a bit thicker and danced around, letting out a big burp.
Then, Professor Tang on the podium chuckled softly, and black mist surged from all directions.
When the black mist dissipated, Liu Sheng found that they were back in the Science Museum .
It seemed that the paintings here were probably all traps, and there were still three or four more.
Liu Sheng thought silently, then turned her head to see Yu Jinling looking at her and what was behind her with a mix of fear and admiration.
Only then did Liu Sheng realize, she lightly coughed, and retracted the Little Tentacle, which had been showing off like a peacock, back into her body.
“So you are a Yugui?” Yu Jinling asked in a low voice.
Liu Sheng was full of question marks.
However, that made sense; otherwise, there was no way to explain the existence of Little Tentacle.
Moreover, a Yugui is a Fusion of a weird object and a person, so why wouldn't she count?
So she nodded noncommittally: “Hmm, I guess so.”
Yu Jinling gasped, and her eyes grew even more fervent.
Don't look at how Chen Shanyuan and the others seemed quite repulsed by Yugui; once they knew there was a Yugui in the team, they would definitely be nothing but respectful and humble.
The abilities of a Yugui cannot be simply categorized according to existing Realm levels, because their abilities vary, and in advantageous situations, they can even challenge those of higher levels.
Moreover, judging by the combat performance of Liu Sheng's tentacles just now, her combat power is extremely high and has a certain restraining effect on weird objects. Not to mention that she has already reached the Realm of freely controlling her abilities, her strength is probably the greatest among the Yugui Yu Jinling has seen so far.
This woman needs to be properly appeased, along with the almost unnoticeable Liu Weiwei beside her.
Liu Sheng ignored Yu Jinling's little thoughts and instead seriously read the text accompanying the illustration. It indeed mentioned that Professor Tang had published a “Rotten Apple Universe Theory,” but it had not been recognized by the academic community.
Below the illustration was also an exhibit, a small, dark, wrinkled object. Combining the two, it finally became clear that this was a rotten apple.
However, from the subsequent story, it was learned that Professor Tang's theory not only failed to gain academic recognition but was also ridiculed by all the teachers and students at the school where she worked. Therefore, she chose to leave the school and began to explore the true meaning of the Universe on her own, and to preach and teach among the common people.
Then the story directly skipped to Professor Tang's meeting with aliens ending, and her decision to establish the “Cosmic Village” to collectively summon aliens.
The second painting depicted this very scene.
Their gazes shifted instantly, and they arrived in a desolate valley, with stars filling the sky. Before them was a vast, extremely rudimentary tent camp.
It looked like the Cosmic Village when it was still a wasteland and not yet fully constructed.
In the middle of the camp was an empty small square. Calling it a square was an overstatement; in reality, it was just a cleared area where weeds had been pulled and the ground leveled.
Professor Tang's shadow stood on a wooden box at the very front, looking down at the crowd.
In the square were hundreds of blurry figures, all sitting quietly cross-legged, with shiny iron pots on their heads, like some mysterious ritual.
“Do you feel the energy from the Universe?” Professor Tang asked softly.
One of the “iron pots” beside Liu Sheng suddenly shrieked excitedly, “I feel it! It's like… it's like something is talking to me…”
The surrounding figures immediately became restless, whispering to each other.
“Oh my goodness, can this person meet aliens like the Professor?”
“Wouldn't that make them the second person in the world to communicate with aliens? How enviable!”
“It's more than that, isn't it? I heard there's a village where everyone has seen aliens!”
“Why can't I feel it? Am I hopeless! Waaah!” another figure cried out.
Professor Tang extended her hands and pressed them downwards.
“Everyone, please calm down, calm down!”
At this moment, Professor Tang had quite an air of authority. As soon as she spoke, the square instantly fell silent.
“Everyone will have a chance. Calm down, close your eyes, and imagine yourselves as worms burrowing inside an apple.”
“Imagine yourselves wriggling between layers of cells, penetrating the apple, feeling the existence outside the apple, and bringing it in.”
Professor Tang's voice was calm yet contained a firm power, making people unknowingly fall into it.
Suddenly, Professor Tang's gentle voice sounded in Liu Sheng's ear.
“You three, why aren't you closing your eyes?”
“And why aren't you wearing signal receivers?”